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Deputy Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan believes that the focus should be on achieving real, tangible results, despite possible problematic issues or statements along the path to peace.
He made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev’s latest statement who claimed that early 20th-century “Tsarist Russian maps” supposedly show that the toponyms of present-day Armenian territories are of Azerbaijani origin.
Rubinyan initially referred to his written response published on social media.
He nevertheless stated that the Azerbaijani official rhetoric has toned down since the initialing of the peace agreement on August 8.
“In any case, we have observed a certain shift in the emphasis of statements coming from Azerbaijan after the Washington agreements on August 8. Of course, we cannot say that there are no statements we consider unconstructive. That statement is one of them. If we look back, in terms of place names, we will not see a situation that is at all unfavorable for us; rather, we will see a very favorable situation. But we should not go backward — we must move forward. That is the way to strengthen and maintain peace,” said Rubinyan.
Referring to various assessments regarding peace, he emphasized that peace means that Russian wheat is being imported into Armenia via Azerbaijan by rail. Rubinyan also noted that Kazakh wheat is imported into Armenia through Azerbaijani territory.
“This is a historic event. The last time something like this happened was probably in 1991 or 1992, that is, before the active phase of the war,” the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly emphasized.
Rubinyan stressed that in the past 30 years, the only country with which Armenia had a railway connection was Georgia.
“Yes, there will be problematic issues on the path to peace, and yes, there may be statements that we consider problematic, but we must focus on real achievements. The import of wheat into Armenia through Azerbaijani territory is a very important fact that should be acknowledged, including in the context of peace. We have a historic opportunity to institutionalize the established peace and make it irreversible and long-lasting,” emphasized the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.